Christian Eriksen

[Huddy]

Eriksen can only operate with time on the ball, the moment he's pressed he'll turn it over due to lack of close control skills and body strength, Liverpool pressed him constantly and the results were yestersday's performance.

He's best off retiring to Serie A where he'll be given time and space.

 

[Raziel]

Eriksen can only operate with time on the ball, the moment he's pressed he'll turn it over due to lack of close control skills and body strength, Liverpool pressed him constantly and the results were yestersday's performance.

He's best off retiring to Serie A where he'll be given time and space.

Eriksen can destroy the best sides in the world with time and space, he is fully capable of playing in tight conditions

- The question again, if it's that obvious to everyone what he can do with time and space, why doesn't the team setup do that? i.e. give him time and space?
- Simple tactics would be either setup so Eriksen gets the space or accept the opposition will target him and give someone else space to hurt them ...

We are so brick tactically right now ..

 

[nayimfromthehalfwayline]

There really is no excuse to play CE if he wanted to leave him out.

There really isnt.

Heres the thing, Eriksen did EXACTLY as we all thought he would. Probably hoped he wouldnt, of course, but I dont think anyone here is surprised at his level.

Poch went into the game with a clear 451 defensive shape, seemingly identified their fullbacks as an issue and so packed the midfield to allow people to track them.

Then he picked Eriksen. Literally the worst option for the job. It defies belief, really.

On the basis Lamela wasnt available Id have played Lo Celso myself. Playing him out wide isnt a bad way to get some minutes into him, and its a guarantee he would have been much more effective in both defence and attack.

Equally, Alli would have done a much better job. I know he isnt in form, but he is rarely left wanting for putting in the effort defending etc.

Or, as much as Im no particular fan, Sissoko would have been more than capable of tracking Robertson all game and basically making that flank a no go area.

Point being, there were most certainly options. And IMHO, every single one better than the one Poch took.

Im disgusted with the way Eriksen performs these days, but lets be honest - on his absolute best form - he still wouldnt be worth much tracking/defending against Robertson down that flank. He would be more effective in attack, you would hope, and maybe theres a trade off there, but he wouldnt be worth a toss in shoring up that side.

That Poch picked him is, IMO, the real issue.

 

[mudshark]

Can't fathom it, really. Eriksen's checked out; there's no longer any point trying to keep him "motivated" or "on-side", because he's clearly neither. Just play Ndombele and/or Lo Celso. At least start them, even if you don't think they're up to 90 minutes.

 

[Raziel]

That Poch picked him is, IMO, the real issue.

Picked him and left him on until 83+ minutes ..

But in addition to your points, I'll try to find but there is a point in the game where Poch is giving Eriksen instructions/tactics/whatever and he (CE) is clearly not agreeing with what he is being told .. very worrying

 

[glorygloryeze]

Picked him and left him on until 83+ minutes ..

But in addition to your points, I'll try to find but there is a point in the game where Poch is giving Eriksen instructions/tactics/whatever and he (CE) is clearly not agreeing with what he is being told .. very worrying

Yeah i saw that too....maybe someone can put up a gif from Skysports or BeinSports..?

Well, it is Poch's own decision to play him so he himself is putting is job on the line for such players...

 

[parklane1]

He's a limited manager?!! Jesus wept!! I guarantee if Christian Eriksen will have suitors in Jan, Poch will have more if sacked. He will go to Utd where he will not only bring in his first choice player, he will keep them because they can pay the wages. You can be annoyed at how things have gone but the disrespect and re writing of history is incredible.

It is not like he is the first Spurs manager things have turned against. But he is the one who has been the most successful in the PL era against teams with far greater resources. He's the one who has had us competing with the big boys and raised expectations such that fans expect top 4 every season. He's the one who has dealt with one of the toughest chairman in the game. He's the one who took the games of Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane, Mousa Dembele, Dele Alli et al to a different level. That is what his CV will say.

YES I get we are struggling at the moment but there are some very big gaps in the squad that need plugging namely Mousa Dembele AND Christian Eriksen. We have lost them both over the space of a season. And guess what? No signings at all last season to even start to replace them. Hence some of the mess we are in. We have new players still bedding in who have already been injured. We have a team devoid of confidence and other players behaving like snowflakes.

From Keith Burkinshaw to Poch has been almost 30 years. That's how fudging long it took us to get a manager who got us with in spitting distance of the big prizes. So fudging bin him off if you like, but make no mistake he will be picked up very quickly while we will continue to search for a manager who will come close to achieving what he has at Spurs.

The truth.

 

[Glenda's Legs]

I crashed off the Eriksen bandwagon after the Brighton game and would have been (and still would be ) happy never to see him in our shirt again.
Yesterday he was ineffectual/ineffective.
But... it seemed he was being asked to play a far more defensive role than usual. Stuck out on the right, he often seemed in a right back position, with Aurier further infield.
That’s not Eriksen’s strength and he struggled at times but he was sticking to instructions it seemed.
I did notice the time when Poch was talking to him on the touch line. I didn’t think he was disagreeing at all. My thought at the time was it was a good sign that Poch chose Eriksen to relay his message.
I can sort of understand with hindsight why he started but he should have been taken off early second half.
I don’t think we will see him starting many more times but yesterday he at least showed he was willing to try the job allocated to him, albeit not very successfully.
He’s still in my bad books though.

 

[SteveAWOL]

Eriksen’s agent should show him how much moolah Madrid lavish on their players to try and get him to pull his finger out!

 

[Raziel]

He's a limited manager?!! Jesus wept!! I guarantee if Christian Eriksen will have suitors in Jan, Poch will have more if sacked. He will go to Utd where he will not only bring in his first choice player, he will keep them because they can pay the wages. You can be annoyed at how things have gone but the disrespect and re writing of history is incredible.

It is not like he is the first Spurs manager things have turned against. But he is the one who has been the most successful in the PL era against teams with far greater resources. He's the one who has had us competing with the big boys and raised expectations such that fans expect top 4 every season. He's the one who has dealt with one of the toughest chairman in the game. He's the one who took the games of Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane, Mousa Dembele, Dele Alli et al to a different level. That is what his CV will say.

YES I get we are struggling at the moment but there are some very big gaps in the squad that need plugging namely Mousa Dembele AND Christian Eriksen. We have lost them both over the space of a season. And guess what? No signings at all last season to even start to replace them. Hence some of the mess we are in. We have new players still bedding in who have already been injured. We have a team devoid of confidence and other players behaving like snowflakes.

From Keith Burkinshaw to Poch has been almost 30 years. That's how fudging long it took us to get a manager who got us with in spitting distance of the big prizes. So fudging bin him off if you like, but make no mistake he will be picked up very quickly while we will continue to search for a manager who will come close to achieving what he has at Spurs.

He is a limited manager

- His great accomplishment is to have taken a side that made top 4 twice before him, and made it consistent. He has failed to win anything, and he only passed Redknapp's QF CL run once.
- His sides included Hugo, Walker/Rose, Toby/Jan in their prime, plus Dembele, Wanyama, Son, Kane, Dele, Eriksen (he never improved Eriksen). It doesn't matter how much money you spent, it matter how good the squad was, and in that squad he had a team that should have won something. It hasn't and it seems it never will and the idiotic idea that we need to try to recreate another great team to hope this time the manager might have learnt on the job is insane
- He actually peaked 3 season ago, stats back it up, once he lost Walker he's never been able to adapt and make the side truly threaten again
- Money spent, income gap between top 6, there is a real argument to say Harry at least equaled Poch's accomplishment (doing something the first time is often harder)

Sure someone will pick up Poch, but someone picks up a whole lot of rotating underachieving managers in the PL, nothing special there.

p.s. we actually won somethings between Burkinshaw and Poch, so I'm not sure what that point is ..

 

[billyiddo]

How is finishing 4th 5th 4th with a higher net spend and only one financially doped club to compete with a better achievement than finishing 3rd 2nd 3rd while spending less money and having more bigger/richer clubs to compete with??

Absolutely pathetic carry on this recent overwriting of our last few years under Poch.

 

[thfcsteff]

How is finishing 4th 5th 4th with a higher net spend and only one financially doped club to compete with a better achievement than finishing 3rd 2nd 3rd while spending less money and having more bigger/richer clubs to compete with??

Absolutely pathetic carry on this recent overwriting of our last few years under Poch.

I’ll go one step further and say that I think it is a disgraceful re-framing of our last 5 seasons under Pochettino. It is, for some, a witch-hunt, and clearly the lines are drawn on GG. What a shame. I hope Poch proves every single doubter wrong! If those doubters are true supporters, they will also be praying for the same.

 

[thfcsteff]

By the way, yeah yeah “since we lost Walker” and “stats back it up” Raz, but do the “stats” also mention home games as Wembley, the promise of only one season there turning to nearly two, the crowd literally staying away for the final dozen or so “home” games, the failure of the club to do what the bloke asked for even partially with the staff, etc? No “stats” for that fella. Still, this “limited” manager got us to a CL Final repeated top 4 placings.

I get that you want him gone, and if it was just that I’d certainly agree to disagree, but your continually distorted framing of him presented as some sort of “facts” is a step beyond for me.

In closing this comment, I want to both be clear about (and potentially apologise for) any perceived personal slight. Not at all intended. I am sure we would get on famously if we were to meet, so please know that when I engage in these discussions, it is on the basis of debate only.

The internet makes personalising these things hard, so again, offered in the spirit of (admittedly fierce!) debate but not intended as personal towards you at all mate.

 

[Bedfordspurs]

He is a limited manager

- His great accomplishment is to have taken a side that made top 4 twice before him, and made it consistent. He has failed to win anything, and he only passed Redknapp's QF CL run once.
- His sides included Hugo, Walker/Rose, Toby/Jan in their prime, plus Dembele, Wanyama, Son, Kane, Dele, Eriksen (he never improved Eriksen). It doesn't matter how much money you spent, it matter how good the squad was, and in that squad he had a team that should have won something. It hasn't and it seems it never will and the idiotic idea that we need to try to recreate another great team to hope this time the manager might have learnt on the job is insane
- He actually peaked 3 season ago, stats back it up, once he lost Walker he's never been able to adapt and make the side truly threaten again
- Money spent, income gap between top 6, there is a real argument to say Harry at least equaled Poch's accomplishment (doing something the first time is often harder)

Sure someone will pick up Poch, but someone picks up a whole lot of rotating underachieving managers in the PL, nothing special there.

p.s. we actually won somethings between Burkinshaw and Poch, so I'm not sure what that point is ..

Top 4 twice before - that’s a fact... but average that out over previous periods of the premier league for example ... so you could argue that in the first 20 odd years we made the top 4 twice and were never ever near to winning the thing

in Pochs 5 years we have been top 4 4 times I, believe and for a period we were genuinely the best team in the land but yeah we didn’t win a thing

now our expectations have changed and all because he has taken us there

 

[Bullet]

Yep, previous Poch was v good. Could have been great if he used subs earlier.



Whereas Current Poch is not even comparable to Previous Poch

 

[scaramanga]

Top 4 twice before - that’s a fact... but average that out over previous periods of the premier league for example ... so you could argue that in the first 20 odd years we made the top 4 twice and were never ever near to winning the thing

in Pochs 5 years we have been top 4 4 times I, believe and for a period we were genuinely the best team in the land but yeah we didn’t win a thing

now our expectations have changed and all because he has taken us there

You're right in all of that and the most pertinent part is the final sentence.

He has yet to show (again, I'm not saying he wont - simply that he hasn't) that he can cope with managing that team. It's one thing managing plucky underdogs, another entirely to build a top level team and keep it that way.

Quite often players will be good enough to get us to the top 4 but not past that, so we replace them.with players who can. I don't see why it's so controversial to suggest we do the same with the manager if he can't make the step up.

 

[thfcsteff]

You're right in all of that and the most pertinent part is the final sentence.

He has yet to show (again, I'm not saying he wont - simply that he hasn't) that he can cope with managing that team. It's one thing managing plucky underdogs, another entirely to build a top level team and keep it that way.

Quite often players will be good enough to get us to the top 4 but not past that, so we replace them.with players who can. I don't see why it's so controversial to suggest we do the same with the manager if he can't make the step up.

Sigh. He built a top level team, kept it there when it was homeless for a season and then two thirds of the next, he kept it there when he was not given the things he asked for and he got us to a CL Final where certain members of the side simply did not perform to their true level. He has had a rough start to the season yet we are still on course to qualify for the knock-out stages of the CL.

You can change the manager if you think he cannot "step up" but if you see any other manager out there who could do what he has done (and will likely do again - maybe more) under the terms and conditions of working at our club then I'd like a suggestion.

 

[scaramanga]

Sigh. He built a top level team, kept it there when it was homeless for a season and then two thirds of the next, he kept it there when he was not given the things he asked for and he got us to a CL Final where certain members of the side simply did not perform to their true level. He has had a rough start to the season yet we are still on course to qualify for the knock-out stages of the CL.

You can change the manager if you think he cannot "step up" but if you see any other manager out there who could do what he has done (and will likely do again - maybe more) under the terms and conditions of working at our club then I'd like a suggestion.

I think you and I have different definitions of top.

Top for me is 1st in the CL or 1st in the league. Not only that but repeatedly being in at least close contention for both.

We were a very, very good team but we needed a step change (in the opposite direction to the one we took) to become a top team.

 

[billyiddo]

I think you and I have different definitions of top.

Top for me is 1st in the CL or 1st in the league. Not only that but repeatedly being in at least close contention for both.

We were a very, very good team but we needed a step change (in the opposite direction to the one we took) to become a top team.

Is this not literally what Pochettino has been predicting/calling for these past few years - that with our old methods things would eventually catch up with us and if we wanted to take that next step we need to think/act/behave in a different way?

 

[scaramanga]

Is this not literally what Pochettino has been predicting/calling for these past few years - that with our old methods things would eventually catch up with us and if we wanted to take that next step we need to think/act/behave in a different way?

I think that's true. I don't think losing to Brighton is the answer.